Mariko Takeuchi (Case Closed)
Mariko Takeuchi (Sakiko Tamagawa) is the villainess of "Courtroom Confrontation III: Prosecutor as Eyewitness", episode 16.24 of Case Closed (airdate November 26, 2007). She was the CEO of her family's company and the wife of Hiroaki Takeuchi, who had been detained prior to the episode's events for a hit-and-run accident in which he apparently struck Yasuyuki Matsukawa (who ultimately survived his injuries) and drove off without getting help. Mariko was first shown leaving a meeting with her husband's attorney, Eri Kisaki, dismissing Eri's request that she visit Hiroaki by saying she was too busy. Shortly afterwards, however, Eri began to suspect that Mariko was the true culprit behind the accident and that Hiroaki was covering for her, with Conan Edogawa coming to the same conclusion after seeing that Mariko's reflective glasses coincided with an eyewitness seeing a flash of light as the hit-and-run driver fled the scene. Eri also realized that prosecuting attorney Reiko Kujo was intentionally keeping Hiroaki in prison in an effort to reopen a previous case she and Hiroaki were involved with together involving his wife's company five years prior, with Reiko ordering Hiroaki's release after Eri meets with her to discuss her strategy. Soon after his release, however, Hiroaki was found dead in what appeared to be a suicide, having jumped from his balcony to his death. Reiko served as an apparent witness to Hiroaki's suicide along with his wife, with Mariko angrily lashing out at Reiko when she attended her husband's wake, accusing her of driving Hiroaki to his death and ordering her to leave. Later investigations would prove, however, that Mariko was not only responsible for the hit-and-run, but had also killed Hiroaki and staged his death as a suicide, using Reiko to serve as her "alibi" and allow for Hiroaki's death to be quickly labelled a suicide. As revealed over the course of the episode, Mariko had made a deal with her husband to take the blame for the accident, in exchange for 30 million yen and a divorce from her. However, after realizing that Reiko was still pursuing the case against Mariko's company, Hiroaki decided to use the opportunity to blackmail his wife, demanding a hundred million yen in exchange for keeping quiet about her villainous secrets. After a failed attempt to appease Hiroaki with a partial amount of the money he was demanding, with Hiroaki having called Reiko to come over as a scare ploy against his wife, the evil Mariko went about killing Hiroaki, taking a brick that was used to prop up their outdoor A/C unit to bludgeon her husband to death. To set up her husband's death as a suicide, Mariko dressed Hiroaki in a suit with a hanger placed in the back of it, using the hooks attached to the ceiling of the balcony and a rope to prop his body upright. Mariko also tied another rope to their satellite dish and the front of the suit in order to create the illusion of Hiroaki jumping over the balcony once Reiko arrived, planting a false will and texting herself on Hiroaki's phone to make it appear her husband was suicidal. Mariko lastly went about hiding her makeshift weapon by swapping the brick with one from the flower plot outside the apartment complex. The episode's climax has Mariko being exposed in court by Conan as he impersonates Kogoro Mouri while he was on the stand, the villainess having already been set up for her villainous reveal by Eri and Reiko (both having come to realize she was responsible for both the accident and Hiroaki's death). Mariko attempted to claim there was no proof to her villainous deeds, but was goaded into accidentally confessing after Conan claimed that there were traces of human hair and blood found on the A/C unit. Afterwards, Mariko began blasting Eri and Reiko for conspiring to catch her before she was silenced by the judge, who announced that the trial was adjourned and that a new hearing would be held regarding Mariko's crimes. Category:2000s Category:Anime Villainess Category:Brunette Category:Business Villainess Category:Callous Category:Conspirator Category:Deceiver Category:Glasses Category:Makeshift Weapon Category:Manga Villainess Category:Murderer Category:Murder: Bludgeoning Category:Murder: Staged Suicide Category:Vehicle Weapon Category:Villainous Reveal Category:Villain's Lover Category:Fate: Arrested